Tag Archives: Paris

A bronze bull head fountain is suddenly transformed into a minotaur. A decrepit corner of an alley becomes a holding pen for ostriches. If any of these odd happenings sound familiar to you, you’re probably living in Paris and have just witnessed the work of French artist Charles Leval (previously). Going by the name Levalet, the artist injects humor into the streets of Paris by gluing animal and human-shaped pasteups onto walls. A lot of thought goes into location too as each piece usually interacts with its environment in one way or another.

Levalet has been updating his site and facebook page with new work he’s created so far in 2015. When not on the streets, Levalet can be found in a classroom (he teaches art) and in a gallery (he held an exhibition late last year at Galerie Geraldine Zberro). “I was looking for places and contexts to operate,” says Levalet, referring to his prime medium: the wall. “The street became a creative space I had to invade.” (via StreetArtNews)

For a photographer living in a major city filled with iconic architecture, museums, and myriad tourist destinations, the struggle to capture an authentic image is great. This was the exact situation photographer Michael Wolf found himself in after moving to Paris from Hong Kong in 2008. Surrounded in a city filled with sights that could easily be interpreted as cliché, Wolf pointed his camera away from the recognizable landmarks and instead focused on the dense rooftops surrounding the city. Packed with stout chimneys, tv antennas, graffiti, and numerous geometric forms, these shots present a strange abstracted view of a usually recognizable place.

The Chemin de fer de Petite Ceinture (French for “little belt railway”) was a 32 km railway that encirled Paris, connecting all the major railway stations within fortified walls during the Industrial Revolution. In service from 1852 to 1934, the line has now been partially abandoned for 80 years.

Several developers and local officials have recently set their sights on the vast swath of unused land, tunnels, and stations as an opportunity for new development. However, some railway enthusiasts and related organizations want the tracks and stations to be preserved indefinitely as part of the cities’ heritage. Others want to turn areas of de Petite Ceinture into parkways similar to the nearby Promenade plantée, a 4.7 km park built on an elevated train track in 1988 that later inspired New York’s famous High Line.

As part of his project “By the Silent Line,” photographer Pierre Folk has been working since 2011 to photograph the 160-year-old railway’s last remnants before any final decisions are made. He stalks the tracks at all times of the year, often returning to the same locations to document nature’s slow reclamation as rusted tracks and crumbling tunnels are swallowed by trees, vines, and grass. This is just a small selection of Folk’s work, you can see many more photos right here.

I’m really enjoying these abstract city maps by Jazzberry Blue (warning: audio). The cities you see above as well as Jerusalem and New Delhi are available as Giclée prints over on Etsy. (via unknown editors)

Artist Philippe Pasqua recently completed installation of an impressive Tyrannosaurus Rex skeleton that now stands watch over the Seine river in Paris. The structure is made from 350 chrome molded bones and measures a full 21′ x 12′ (3m by 6m). Photographs above courtesy Anthony Gelot. If you liked this, also check out Huang Yong Ping’s stainless steel snake skeleton, Ressort.

I love this new piece by street artist Seth, spotted today in Paris. You may remember his work from a few weeks ago in the temporary gallery space at the shuttered Les Bains nightclub. According to StreetArtNews the piece can be found on Rue de Julienne right about here. (via this isn’t happiness)